The 56th Annual Hunger Games
by Hufflepuff64
Summary: Oliver Marion hates the Games. Despite his father's urge to train and become a Career, Oliver doesn't and ends up in the Games anyway. Follow Oliver as he faces the terrible Hunger Games. Rated T for action violence.
1. Chapter 1: Backstory and Beginning

**So I just finished my last story, "The 32nd Annual Hunger Games," and I decided to jump right into the next story I'll be writing. It is based off my first one but includes few of the same characters. Thanks :)**

The day I decided not to go into training was a bad day. My father, Charles Marion, was furious with my decision because his brother had trained when he was young and died in the 32nd Games. His name was Fred. The winner of that Hunger Games was actually the one that killed him in his sleep. My father has replayed that clip over and over. He's been hungry for revenge on the Hunger Games ever since.

But he didn't think about his son. I didn't want to go into the Games and have a 23/24 chance of death, even if I was well trained. Luckily enough for me my friend, Josie, had been training for 3 years by the time I got reaped and I had picked up a few things from her. I was extremely unlucky. The guy that was supposed to volunteer wimped out on the day of reaping and I happened to be the young soul whose name had been selected, which is funny because that's what happened to my uncle Fred's district partner in the 32nd Games. I live in District 4...well I used to. Right now I'm on a HoverCraft on my way to the Arena. It is the 56th Annual Hunger Games and I'm terrified to be a part of it. The Careers know I'm not trained. They'll go for me early on for sure. My female counterpart, Hope, promises she'll try to protect me. She is in with the Careers because of her training.

I really did try to make allies. But there was still only one person I could rely on; Lewis. He was from District 9 and he wasn't much of a fighter, but I trusted him. Plus, I was all the protection the two of us really needed if I got a weapon. I had scored a 9 after all. But I couldn't take out any of the Careers for sure. My best weapon was probably a sword or a bow but I'm pretty good with anything. Josie had helped me perfect my bow shooting, and my father had always given me sword-wielding lessons.

The HoverCraft rattled loudly as we prepared to land. I swallowed hard and looked over into the hostile darting eyes of Silver. His slick black hair was combed back, and his light brown eyes were staring down the other tributes. He was pretty much the leader of the Careers. He's scored an 11 and he was from District 1. All I knew about him was that he was extremely lethal and to avoid him at all costs.

Then I noticed Grace. The girl tribute from 1. She had scored a 9 like me. But I knew for a fact I couldn't beat her in a fight.

Of course I tried hard to avoid Harsh's gaze. He was the guy from 2. Harsh (yes, that is his real name) has a wicked looking scar across his cheek and through his large lips. No one knew besides him how he got it. Harsh intimidates everyone but Silver. That's why they get along. He had scored a 10 I believe.

I didn't really know the girl from District 2 but she scored a 10 and I know I don't want to get into a battle with her.

My only other real competition, besides Hope, had to be the kid from 5. Her name was Ashley. She's exceedingly intelligent. But here's the catch, she is muscular and athletic at the same time. Her score was an 8, but I knew if it came right down to it, I would have a hard time defeating Ashley.

Next thing I know, I'm strolling through the dark halls of an underground tunnel until I reach a room labeled, "District 4 - Oliver Marion." Taking a deep breath, I enter the room. Someone is screaming outside about not wanting to go inside their room, but I ignore it and focus on my Launch room. Quickly, I go over to the cooler and pull out a large bottle of water, guzzling it down hastily. Hopefully that would help in the Arena.

I jump into my tube and listen to a voice count down from 30. Butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I prepare to enter the Arena. "Dad...I'm going to try and make you proud," I whisper as the tube begins to rise.


	2. Chapter 2: It All Begins

I reached the surface after what seemed like ages. What I didn't expect was the Arena. The Cornucopia was placed in the center of a large grassy clearing, with all the tributes pedestals circling it. Behind us, however, were the ruins of a seemingly destroyed city. It wasn't even modern though, it was like an ancient city with clay huts and large crumbled stone buildings. The ground of it comprised of a few rocky paths with weeds and grass poking through the cracks of them all over. This city was large but beyond the city I could see some sort of jungle. I had some options.

The countdown had reached "23" at this point. I looked to my left and right. The boy from 6 was on my left, he looked pretty weak, and the girl from 7 was on my right. I now focused on the Cornucopia situation. A medium sized blue backpack was a few feet in front of me, and a pack of...were those throwing stars? Well whatever they were, they were weapons and they were about two feet in front of the backpack. With those two I would be set. But I can run pretty fast for a 17 year old kid. At the mouth of the Cornucopia was a bow and quiver, and next to it a large bag. I had a bit of a predicament.

The count was now at "7." I had to decide. I took another deep breath and set my focus on the bow. Then the gong sounded and I practically flew off my pedestal. Pumping my legs as fast as I could, I reached the Cornucopia a few moments before anyone else. But Silver was coming my way. I snatched up the bow, quiver, backpack, and ran for the city back towards my pedestal. The female tribute from 10 ran straight for me screaming as she attempted to tackle me. Quickly, I elbowed her in the chin and threw her off me. Then, as I was about to pass my pedestal, I grabbed the pack of weapons from before, and the medium sized bag.

Grateful for my speed and endurance, I set off into the ancient city. At first I wanted to stick to the rock paths, but I eventually strayed from them and found a fairly tall, somewhat intact, stone tower. It looked like a watchtower or something. Peering inside, I noticed that there was a long winding staircase upward. Perfect! From that height, my bow would be very useful. This base would be easy to defend.

Eventually I reached the top of this watchtower and looked down, dropping my bags and aiming my bow. There he was. Running for his life was my only ally; Lewis. Probably not too smart, but I didn't care, I yelled, "OVER HERE LEWIS!" He stopped abruptly and noticed me in my tower. Lewis changed directions and climbed to safety. He dropped down exhausted.

The girl from 3 was running near my tower, she had a small backpack and a spear. Luckily she hadn't realized my presence above her. I aimed my bow at her and let the arrow fly. Up until this point I had never considered killing another person. The arrow hit her square in the back with a thud, and she stumbled to the ground. "Lewis, grab her stuff I'll cover you!" I ordered. He peeled himself off the ground moaning and climbed down the stairs. After Lewis got back up with the girl from 3's stuff, I collapsed to the floor in anguish. "Hey! Oliver you got to cover us!" Lewis exclaimed. Realizing I wouldn't come out of my death stupor, Lewis picked up the other weapons I had grabbed and revealed them. "Wow, throwing stars..." he muttered. He nudged me. "Oliver, Silver is beneath us...with Hope." I gulped down a lump in my throat. "Duck down so they don't see us!" I hissed. Lewis dropped down next to me.

"He came this way, I swear!" I heard Silver shout below us. "Hey, calm down Silver, we will get him, he can't run far I know him," Hope lied. I breathed heavily. "Fine," Silver seemed to mumble, then we heard footsteps walk away from us. "That was close," Lewis huffed. Nodding in agreement, I stood. Then the cannons boomed. 9 cannons went off. Meaning 9 died in the bloodbath.

We then split up our supplies. Food and water was divided evenly, then I took the bow and arrows, along with half the throwing stars (6 of them.) Lewis got half the food, the spear from the District 3 tribute, and half the stars. This was so that if we got separated we could both have a chance at survival. "So, how long will we stay here?" Lewis questioned as we ate dinner. "Well, probably until we know the Careers have left the area. Then I suppose we could try to loot the Cornucopia," I suggested with a mouth full of crackers and water.

That night Lewis and I swapped some background from our homes and our pasts. He was an only child back in District 9 and he worked on a wheat harvesting crew. So when Lewis was reaped, it really broke his parents' hearts. He wasn't really interested in any girl at the moment. I told him about my life back in 4, and about Josie. She was my best friend, and as the years went by I had recently been getting more attracted to her.

Finally the anthem played and we watched the starry sky as faces appeared. No Careers had been killed, but both tributes from 3 were. The girls face resurfaced a painful memory and I winced at the sight of her. The boy from 6, the one on the pedestal next to me at the start of the Games, had died. Also the boy from 7. Both from 8 were dead. The girl from 10, and both tributes from 12 had been murdered. Lewis sighed in relief knowing his district partner was alive. Only 15 tributes remained.

I knew pretty much all of the Careers, plus Lewis and I, that made 7 of the 15. Then there's Ashley from 5, making 8. That means I hardly even knew half of the names of my competitors in this Arena. Well, I had tried to align with the boy from 11. I believe his name was Rico. Yeah, that's right. He was speedy quick but not a great fighter. So I did know 9 of the 15 remaining tributes, including myself.

Lewis took first watch that night and I fell asleep immediately. Lewis woke me in the middle of the night and we switched posts. There I stood, towering over an unfamiliar ancient village holding a bow and arrow scanning the area for other people. A few times I almost dozed off but I didn't. My eyes kept returning to a certain blood stain on the rocks to my left below me. That was the exact spot where the girl from 3 had died. I had murdered her. I almost vomited, so I forced myself to look away.

Several hours passed, and then, just as the sun was rising, a war cry rang out from behind us, at the Cornucopia. Then another cry joined that one. Then two more, until finally there were five voices yelling at the top of their lungs. I heard thundering stomps as the Careers ran through the city imposing terror on whomever they passed. "Over here!" I heard a female voice shriek. Some more scuffling, a little screaming, then four thwacking noises, followed by whimpering. At this point Lewis was wide awake next to me. A cannon shot. The Careers had just beat some kid to death. Those stomps and war cries got closer and closer, and I sunk lower and lower. My eyes just barely peering over the edge of the tower. Lewis kept his eyes on the staircase below us. Harsh stepped into my view, shouting for tributes to come face him as he searched a small clay dwelling. Right now, I could kill him. Pull out my bow and shoot. Harsh would die. But the other Careers, and there was 4 of them, wouldn't stop until they found and kill Lewis and I. Then the girl from 2 appeared at his side checking another building. She wielded a wicked looking battle axe, while Harsh held a long sword. Suddenly, someone jumped out of a clay but behind Harsh's back and darted the other way. It was Rico from District 11! He sprinted towards the jungle. By the time Harsh noticed Rico, he was already entering the jungle. "Ah! Why didn't anyone see him! I'm gonna get that rat..." Harsh mumbled angrily as he walked out of sight.

Lewis elbowed me in the ribs softly and gestured toward the stairs. I turned and listened. Someone was coming up. "What do we do?" Lewis hissed. I looked to my left. We could..."Follow me!" I ordered quickly, picking up and backpack and encouraging Lewis to do the same, as I climbed onto the edge of the watchtower, Lewis in tow. Just as I spotted the top of Silver's head, I leapt off of the tower and landed hard on top of a smaller building to our left. My ankle seared with pain. Lewis followed, but he landed on his feet. He helped me up and we ran, then jumped onto the next building of about the same size. "Oliver? No way!" I heard Silver shout behind us. We jumped onto the next, smaller building. For a moment I rotated my head and saw Silver jumping onto the first hut. I pushed Lewis to run faster, and we hopped off onto the next building. Silver was going faster than us, but he had a lot of ground to make up. "You'll never get away little boys!" Silver cackled loudly behind us. He was catching up. Just before we reached the end of the next house, I flipped around, pulling out an arrow, attaching it to my bow, and fired straight for Silver. The look of shock and horror on his face was scarring. However, he hopped to the right just in time to save his life, but the arrow still stuck in his left arm. Silver howled in pain and stumbled to the ground. "Come on!" Lewis shouted from the other building. I jumped across, smirking.

After two more houses, there were no more to jump onto, therefore we leaped to the ground and ran to the jungle. The whole place gave me the creeps. Unknown bird calls littered the air, and large mossy trees loomed all around us. We kept running though, at least until we could hardly bear it anymore. Then we climbed a rather tall tree for safety. It took us more than 5 minutes just to get to the top! But the spacious, leafy area on the top of this tree provided excellent shelter. "I...can't...believe..." Lewis croaked between heavy breaths. "That we got away from Silver?" I added. He nodded and emptied one of the bags, passing me a gleaming metal water bottle. I slowly sipped some of it, and stuffed a piece of dried meat in my mouth. That was my breakfast. "I guess we will just wait it out up here then?" Lewis inquired. I answered affirmatively. Staring into my metal bottles reflection, I examined myself.

I have light brown, shaggy long hair. You can tell I come from District 4. As I've known forever, I do look like a surfer kid. My long hair swoops across my forehead to the right. My dark blue, sort of gray, eyes stare into the cup, mesmerized. I wasn't a beauty in the face, but I was generally pretty handsome. My physique was that of a lean swimmer. In the upper body department I was muscly, but definitely not ripped. I had a lean body, not at all overweight, actually somewhat skinny. The outfit the Capitol had given the tributes was a light jacket, colored black, and long green pants. On the back of my jacket and on the shoulders, the number 4 was printed in bold white. After observing my own features, I took a moment to look at Lewis.

He was 16, only a year younger than me, and I was about two inches taller than him. I was about 5"10 and he was about 5"8. Lewis had short sandy hair, and he usually combed the front of his hair up. His jacket of course had a 9 on the back and shoulders. He wasn't particularly strong or muscular, but he was in pretty good shape. Before the Games I told him to run until he found me rather than go for something at the Cornucopia. Totally not regretting that decision.

Eventually I dozed off. But about two hours later Lewis woke me up. "Oliver, the Careers are entering the jungle. I can just barely see them," he stated. I sat up and turned my head in the direction Lewis was looking. He was right. But it was only Harsh, the girl from 2, and Hope. Grace and Silver were missing. "Grace's probably tending to Silver back at their camp," I assumed. "So what are we going to do?" Lewis asked. I smiled and pointed to the tree in front of us. "Exactly what we did this morning."

Hopping from tree to tree wasn't as easy as I had thought it was. We were only half way to the edge of the jungle by the time the sun began to set. Lewis, panting, suggested we set up camp for the night. I agreed, discouraged from the little progress we'd made that day. I took the first watch as Lewis fell asleep after dinner and the anthem. The only death was the guy from 5...he must have been the kid that the Careers beat up this morning.

Our camp was perched atop a medium sized tree. The fact that some of the trees around us were taller alarmed me. What if someone was above us? As if my thoughts became reality, the tree to my right rustled and a dark figure leaped from the top of it, falling down on top of Lewis.


	3. Chapter 3: Please

Immediately I noticed who the tribute was. It was the girl from District 11. Lewis awoke screaming as he and the District 11 tribute got into a tussle. I quickly jumped forward and pulled this girl off Lewis and held her in a headlock. "Where did she come from!?" Lewis spluttered, still very shaken. Silence followed for a minute. Then she responded, "Don't kill me please! I didn't know you guys were here, take my stuff I don't care! Let me go, let me go..." I frowned and Lewis stood up. He snarled and got up in her face. "You woke me up," Lewis grumbled. Surprisingly, Lewis punched the tribute in the face. Blood spewed from her face but she was still conscious. "Lewis! Chill out!" I commanded, pulling the girl away from him. "Ugh..." I heard her mumble. "Listen," she started again, "You can kill me now, or give me an offer." Lewis and I looked at each other.

"What's your name?" Lewis barked. The girl replied sharply, "Evelyn, District 11." Recalling these facts, I nodded. "What do you have?" Lewis hissed. "Not much. A knife," Evelyn nervously answered. She knew that without supplies to offer, we might just kill her. Lewis shook his head and picked up his spear. "Should I do the honors?" he asked honestly. "Woah! Who said we were going to kill her?" I retorted incredulously. He shrugged. Evelyn sighed. "However," I reasoned, "she doesn't have much to give us." Then she began pleading, "I'll be loyal to you guys! I'm a great ally! Please!" I shook my head. "Loyalty means nothing. We are fighting for our lives, no one is loyal," I countered strongly. Lewis agreed. "Hand over the knife," Lewis extended his hand as he spoke. I slowly released Evelyn but kept a hand on her shoulder. She pulled a small throwing knife from her pants and placed it in Lewis's hand. "Now what?" Evelyn said shakily. Before Lewis murdered her I suggested, "Let's toss her. Right off the top of this tree. If she lives, good for her. If not, so be it." I felt cruel saying it, but we were low on options and I didn't want to watch another death. Lewis pondered for a moment, then took Evelyn roughly and positioned her to stand on the edge of a tree branch. "Please..." Evelyn sobbed. Holding back tears I declared, "Do it." With that, Lewis shoved her off the tree.

Unlike myself, Lewis watched as her body fell with a loud thump to the ground. A moan could be heard from below. Lewis gasped. "She's...ugh," he turned around, ran to the other side of the tree and vomited off the edge. "What?" I asked, refusing to see for myself. "No way she's going to live," was Lewis's reply. Then a cannon blast came.

When the HoverCraft came, our suspicions were confirmed. Evelyn was dead. "I'm never getting that image out of my mind," Lewis stated as he plopped down next to me. "That's why I didn't look," I mumbled. We fell back asleep not bothering to set up a watch, a mistake but we luckily didn't have to deal with any consequences.

That morning we checked our supplies. We were doing well with food and water so all was well. "Should we continue our route back to the city?" Lewis questioned. "Yeah," I replied, jumping to the next tree. At about noon we made it to the edge of the jungle and observed our surroundings. No one was in sight. Just as Lewis and I began climbing down our current tree, a cannon blew off. We tried to ignore it and made it to the bottom. "Watchtower?" I inquired. Lewis nodded and we set off at a jog in that direction. Lewis kept his spear in hand and I always had my bow at ready use. If all fails, my throwing stars were in my pockets.

Our old watchtower was abandoned, and we still hadn't seen any tributes. Lewis led the way up the staircase, but just before we reached the top, Lewis halted and stopped me with his hand, indicating for me to be quiet. "Silver," Lewis mouthed without sound. I raised an eyebrow and mouthed back, "Grace?" He shook his head. Feeling a sense of danger I tugged on Lewis's shirt and we climbed down the stairs and set off running in the opposite direction.

After we stumbled into a vacant clay house I interrogated Lewis. "He was just sitting there against the wall asleep. There was a bandage around his arm. It was really odd," he explained. I shook my head. "It must have been a trap. Grace was probably nearby." Lewis shrugged and asked what the new plan was. "We could go see what there is for us at the Cornucopia," I responded. At that we cautiously snuck through the ancient city until we made it to the gleaming silver structure. A few stacks of supplies were piled inside. "There has to be a catch," I muttered. "Nah," Lewis disagreed, "Those Career people are idiots." He started towards the mouth. Then I saw them. Two small black cameras at the entrance. The second Lewis stepped into view they began to beep rapidly.

"Run!" I shouted. We sprinted past the Cornucopia into the other side of the city. As I fell into stride beside Lewis, he whispered, "I'm sorry...I didn't know." Internally declining his genuine apology, I just kept running. Suddenly a shrill female voice that was awfully too close screamed, "Where did that maggot go!?" My heart nearly stopped. "Just keeping going!" I cried to Lewis. His face was extremely red and I could tell he was hurting. Not that I wasn't, but I definitely wasn't in that kind of shape. "I...I...can't," Lewis huffed as he tumbled to the ground behind me. "No! C'mon!" I yelled and stopped in my tracks. Lewis looked up at me and croaked, "Go." I refused, "No way bud. I've got your back." Hastily, I hid behind a crumbled wall, watching Lewis closely. Then she jogged into view; Grace. "There you are!" she screeched. By the time she pulled out a knife and aimed it at Lewis, I already had an arrow drawn. I felt zero heart for this girl as I let the weapon fly. It zipped past her face and she wheeled around and searched for the source of this arrow. By some stroke of luck I had ducked down before she turned my way. "Come on out, little tribute. Fight me!" Grace shrieked. I grimaced. "I hate Careers," I said loud enough for her to hear. "Is that...OLIVER?" she squealed. At that moment I hopped to my feet with another drawn arrow, and shot. But this one flew straight threw her neck. A cannon sounded immediately as Grace's body slumped to the ground.

I hurried over, retrieving my arrows and picking Lewis up. It took a lot of effort to support a portion of his weight all the way to another clay building. "Stay here, I'm going to snatch some of Grace's loot," I quickly demanded. As I turned to leave, Lewis grabbed hold of my wrist. He stared into my eyes and whispered, "Thank you Oliver. Thank you so much." I nodded and ran from the shelter. All that Grace had taken with her was four throwing knives unfortunately, but it was something. Now we had five with Evelyn's.

Once I made it back to the house, I helped Lewis choke down some water and food, also feeding myself. It seemed he was feeling a little better. "Dude...you like, saved my life there," Lewis gratefully declared. "Of course! I can't leave my #1 ally out there to die," I flashed him a grin. Lewis smiled back. "So, you can take the five knives, and I'll take all the stars. How's that?" Lewis took my proposal and that was that. Night had finally fallen.

First face in the sky that night was Grace. That probably surprised a few people. The cannon at noon had been for Lewis's district partner, Angela. He groaned when he saw her face. "Today was a pretty sucky day," Lewis muttered. "True," I replied. The final face in the sky was Evelyn. Another groan escaped Lewis. "That was a horrible experience," he stammered. "Also true," I said without humor. An awkward silence between Lewis and I followed the end of the anthem. "Look, if you want to talk about it I will. I've already got two kills," I admitted. "Well, it's just hard to accept that you ended a life. That person had feelings. Relationships. Family..." Lewis trailed off and began softly sobbing. "And now, with you saving my life and all..." he whimpered, "I feel so guilty about everything! I should be dead! Not Evelyn, not Angela!" All I could really do was sit there and listen with sympathy. I had these same emotions. Just before falling asleep Lewis mumbled, "I don't deserve to be alive."

In the middle of the night I heard something hit the ground with a metallic, vibrating noise, that woke me up. Supposing it was an enemy I dared not move, but I opened my eyes. Boots flashed across my vision and I heard Lewis swear under his breath and pick up whatever had fallen. Then he sighed, thinking I was still asleep probably. All I heard after that were soft footsteps growing more and more distant. Was Lewis really leaving me?


	4. Chapter 4: Sprinting to The Jungle

Of course I decided to quietly get up, grab my backpack, bow, and quiver and follow him. I snuck outside and saw Lewis darting from building to building through the city. I followed his footsteps like a shadow, he never even noticed. Then we were at the Cornucopia. I stayed back and watched behind a crumbled building. Lewis approached the entrance, but didn't go in sight of the cameras. He slowly pulled out his throwing knives and aimed one at the first camera. "Smart," I muttered to myself. Lewis threw it, accurately, and it embedded itself in the side of the black box, causing its side to side movements to cease. After that, Lewis ran around the back of the Cornucopia to get a good shot at the other camera. First throw, he barely missed. Second throw, it smashed into the front, causing that camera to go limp. Smiling to himself, Lewis jumped forward, snatching a brown bag that appeared to be full of food, picked up his knives, and ran off into the other side of the city. So he was ditching me.

I stealthily pursued him, he didn't notice anything. The occasional times he turned around, I was already concealed. Finally Lewis entered a damaged clay house and plopped onto the floor. Day was breaking. I slipped behind a wall of the house and peered through a crack behind Lewis. He put his weapons aside and opened his bag for breakfast. But before he could eat I jumped through the entrance and tackled Lewis. Once I had him pinned to the ground so that he couldn't get up, I addressed him, "Why?" Lewis struggled trying to get free without a response. "Why!?" I spat louder. Realizing my grip was too tight, Lewis replied through gritted teeth, "We would have had to split up eventually. Just be grateful I left you with half the supplies." My eyebrows shot up. "Grateful!? Grateful that my only ally left me behind to possibly die alone?" I retorted furiously. Lewis stared into my eyes. He was scared. Scared I would finish him. End his life like I did to Grace. Like the girl from District 3. Placing my elbow underneath his chin, I used my other hand to pull a throwing star out of my pocket. I held it up to his throat. "I could do it, Lewis," I threatened. He swallowed his fear and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Make it quick," he requested. Did I really have the guts to murder the only friend I had in this Arena? The answer came as soon as I asked myself the question.

Tossing my star aside I stood up, lifting Lewis to his feet by the shirt collar. "I'm going to keep you alive. But this time, you aren't pulling anything like you just did. You hear?" I ordered. Lewis shakily nodded his head. The second I let him go, he fell to the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry Oliver!" Lewis wailed. I patted his back and comforted, "It's alright, I understand." After a long pause I complimented, "That thing you did with the cameras...it was clever." He nodded, still crying a little. "Thanks," Lewis croaked back. A cannon shot rang out. "Another one of us has died," Lewis grumbled. "What's the point Oliver? Neither of us are going to live..." he ranted. "I am," I declared with determination. "If that's so, then just kill me," Lewis answered sharply. I heard loud laughter in the distance. "Careers," I whispered angrily, grabbing my bow.

"We need to leave. Now," I demanded. Lewis shook his head. "It's useless. This is all useless. I'm going to die anyway. Leave me Oliver," he softly replied. "No way. This is the second time you have given up. Lewis, I am not leaving you behind," I retorted with confidence. "I have my spear. I will be fine," Lewis answered without certainty. Then, suddenly, "Who destroyed the cameras!?" The voice was way too close. I grabbed my backpack, quiver, and throwing star and prepared to leave. "This is your last chance to survive Lewis. I suggest you take it," this was my final plea. He looked up at me with a stone face and stood. "Fine," he said. I smiled at him and took off, Lewis in my wake. I took a moment to turn my head. Way out on the horizon I could make out the shape of two figures. No doubt Careers. "Over there!" someone screamed. "Follow me!" came from someone else. Lewis and I were sprinting at this point. Sprinting toward the jungle.

"Who is it?" I screamed to Lewis who was about three feet behind me. "I think...Harsh...and maybe Hope!" he shouted back. At the sound of Harsh's name I picked up a little speed. "They're gaining!" Lewis yelled. At this point we made it to the final stone building of the city and crashed into the jungle. Leaping over logs and vegetation, Lewis and I surged on. "Should we...climb a tree?" Lewis panted. "Yeah, follow!" I answered, jumping onto a tall tree with many footholds and clambering upward. Lewis struggled to follow. I made it to the top and pulled myself behind a cluster of leaves for camouflage. Lewis was several feet below me, having a hard time reaching the top. I heard people crashing through bushes behind us. Then, unexpectedly, Lewis pulled his spear from his belt, looked at me and muttered, "Good luck Oliver...I'm sorry." At that, Lewis jumped from the tree, landing on his feet. He turned to face Harsh and Hope. Lewis reared back and chucked his spear straight forward. Harsh swung at it, blocking the attack with his sword. He smiled, unforgivingly and advanced. Lewis pulled out a knife and threw this as well. Harsh hadn't expected this. It nicked his arm. Now, Hope ran in wildly, wielding a sword of her own. Lewis took out another knife, attempting to stab Hope, however, she managed to evade the attack and brought her blade down on Lewis's arm, cutting it clean off at the elbow. The scream that came from Lewis's mouth will forever haunt my dreams. Hope quickly jabbed her weapon at his chest, ending his life. A cannon blast sounded.

I wanted so badly to jump down there and kill Hope. She had been nice to me. But now, now, I hated her. She had just killed my only friend. After bandaging his wound, Harsh asked loud enough that anyone in the area could hear, "Wasn't that Oliver's buddy?" My heart once again nearly stopped. I took out my bow and drew an arrow. If they made any moves toward my tree I would shoot. When Hope walked into shooting range, my anger boiled up unbearably. I didn't want to give away my position but I wanted her dead so badly. "This is for Lewis," I whispered to myself. Then I aimed my arrow straight at Hope, and let go of the string. It buried itself in her side, causing Hope to gurgle a howl. She fell to the ground, Harsh yelled, "What!?" Then, realizing Hope had been shot from above, Harsh ran the way he had come, trying to avoid getting shot himself. A cannon shot broke the eerie silence following Harsh's departure. I leaped off the tree and ran to Lewis. He was dead and covered in blood, but I didn't care. I cried over his body as I took his supplies. "I...I should have saved you!" I wail. "Why...why not me?" I wept. Then I heard footsteps behind me. Pulling out a throwing star, I wheeled around.


	5. Chapter 5: Daisy

Please **leave aver your opinions and criticism in the review box, thanks.**

Of course I decided to quietly get up, grab my backpack, bow, and quiver and follow him. I snuck outside and saw Lewis darting from building to building through the city. I followed his footsteps like a shadow, he never even noticed. Then we were at the Cornucopia. I stayed back and watched behind a crumbled building. Lewis approached the

entrance, but didn't go in sight of the cameras. He slowly pulled out his throwing knives and aimed one at the first camera. "Smart," I muttered to myself. Lewis threw it, accurately, and it embedded itself in the side of the black box, causing its side to side movements to cease. After that, Lewis ran around the back of the Cornucopia to get a good shot at the other camera. First throw, he barely missed. Second throw, it smashed into the front, causing that camera to go limp. Smiling to himself, Lewis jumped forward, snatching a brown bag that appeared to be full of food, picked up his knives, and ran off into the other side of the city. So he was ditching me.

I stealthily pursued him, he didn't notice anything. The occasional times he turned around, I was already concealed. Finally Lewis entered a damaged clay house and plopped wonto the floor. Day was breaking. I slipped behind a wall of the house and peered through a crack behind Lewis. He put his weapons aside and opened his bag for breakfast. But before he could eat I jumped through the entrance and tackled Lewis. Once I had him pinned to the ground so that he couldn't get up, I addressed him, "Why?" Lewis struggled trying to get free without a response. "Why!?" I spat louder. Realizing my grip was too tight, Lewis replied through gritted teeth, "We would have had to split up eventually. Just be grateful I left you with half the supplies." My eyebrows shot up. "Grateful!? Grateful that my only ally left me behind to possibly die alone?" I retorted furiously. Lewis stared into my eyes. He was scared. Scared I would finish him. End his life like I did to Grace. Like the girl from District 3. Placing my elbow underneath his chin, I used my other hand to pull a throwing star out of my pocket. I held it up to his throat. "I could do it, Lewis," I threatened. He swallowed his fear and a tear rolled down his cheek. "Make it quick," he requested. Did I really have the guts to murder the only friend I had in this Arena? The answer came as soon as I asked myself the question.

Tossing my star aside I stood up, lifting Lewis to his feet by the shirt collar. "I'm going to keep you alive. But this time, you aren't pulling anything like you just did. You hear?" I ordered. Lewis shakily nodded his head. The second I let him go, he fell to the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry Oliver!" Lewis wailed. I patted his back and comforted, "It's alright, I understand." After a long pause I complimented, "That thing you did with the cameras...it was clever." He nodded, still crying a little. "Thanks," Lewis croaked back. It was finally morning...what a long night. A cannon shot rang out. "Another one of us has died," Lewis grumbled. "What's the point Oliver? Neither of us are going to live..." he ranted. "I am," I declared with determination. "If that's so, then just kill me," Lewis answered sharply. I heard loud laughter in the distance. "Careers," I whispered angrily, grabbing my bow.

"We need to leave. Now," I demanded. Lewis shook his head. "It's useless. This is all useless. I'm going to die anyway. Leave me Oliver," he softly replied. "No way. This is the second time you have given up. Lewis, I am not leaving you behind," I retorted with confidence. "I have my spear. I will be fine," Lewis answered without certainty. Then, suddenly, "Who destroyed the cameras!?" The voice was way too close. I grabbed my backpack, quiver, and throwing star and prepared to leave. "This is your last chance to survive Lewis. I suggest you take it," this was my final plea. He looked up at me with a stone face and stood. "Fine," he said. I smiled at him and took off, Lewis in my wake. I took a moment to turn my head. Way out on the horizon I could make out the shape of two figures. No doubt Careers. "Over there!" someone screamed. "Follow me!" came from someone else. Lewis and I were sprinting at this point. Sprinting toward the jungle.

"Who is it?" I screamed to Lewis who was about three feet behind me. "I think...Harsh...and maybe Hope!" he shouted back. At the sound of Harsh's name I picked up a little speed. "They're gaining!" Lewis yelled. At this point we made it to the final stone building of the city and crashed into the jungle. Leaping over logs and vegetation, Lewis and I surged on. "Should we...climb a tree?" Lewis panted. "Yeah, follow!" I answered, jumping onto a tall tree with many footholds and clambering upward. Lewis struggled to follow. I made it to the top and pulled myself behind a cluster of leaves for camouflage. Lewis was several feet below me, having a hard time reaching the top. I heard people crashing through bushes behind us. Then, unexpectedly, Lewis pulled his spear from his belt, looked at me and muttered, "Good luck Oliver...I'm sorry." At that, Lewis jumped from the tree, landing on his feet. He turned to face Harsh and Hope. Lewis reared back and chucked his spear straight forward. Harsh swung at it, blocking the attack with his sword. He smiled, unforgivingly and advanced. Lewis pulled out a knife and threw this as well. Harsh hadn't expected this. It nicked his arm. Now, Hope ran in wildly, wielding a sword of her own. Lewis took out another knife, attempting to stab Hope, however, she managed to evade the attack and brought her blade down on Lewis's arm, cutting it clean off at the elbow. The scream that came from Lewis's mouth will forever haunt my dreams. Hope quickly jabbed her weapon at his chest, ending his life. A cannon blast sounded.

I wanted so badly to jump down there and kill Hope. She had been nice to me. But now, now, I hated her. She had just killed my only friend. After bandaging his wound, Harsh asked loud enough that anyone in the area could hear, "Wasn't that Oliver's buddy?" My heart once again nearly stopped. I took out my bow and drew an arrow. If they made any moves toward my tree I would shoot. When Hope walked into shooting range, my anger boiled up unbearably. I didn't want to give away my position but I wanted her dead so badly. "This is for Lewis," I whispered to myself. Then I aimed my arrow straight at Hope, and let go of the string. It buried itself in her side, causing Hope to gurgle a howl. She fell to the ground, Harsh yelled, "What!?" Then, realizing Hope had been shot from above, Harsh ran the way he had come, trying to avoid getting shot himself. A cannon shot broke the eerie silence following Harsh's departure. I leaped off the tree and ran to Lewis. He was dead and covered in blood, but I didn't care. I cried over his body as I took his supplies. "I...I should have saved you!" I wail. "Why...why not me?" I wept. Then I heard footsteps behind me. Pulling out a throwing star, I wheeled around. What I saw surprised me.

Not a tribute lay before me, but a leopard. A jet black, larger than average, prowling leopard. The moment I saw that creature, I turned and took off. I heard it pursue me with a growl. After about 5 seconds of being chased by this cat, my foot got caught in an unexpected root and I tumbled to the grassy jungle floor. It leaped onto my body, shooting pain through my chest as it took major cuts. So this was how it ended? A crazy monster ripping my heart out? Laying in my own blood, I readied myself to die. Then it whined, rolled off me and died.

The dreams that followed were unusual. In the first one I sat in a metal room. In front of me stood Lewis. He was wearing the same outfit he wore in the Games...except that the numbers weren't 9s. They were 4s. "How come you didn't save me Oliver?" he said coldly. Then his face morphed and now Hope stood before me but her uniform had 3s on it. She whimpered, "How come you killed me Oliver?" Then her face morphed and now the girl from 3 stood in front of me. Her face I hardly remembered even seeing looked so much worse now. "How come you killed me Oliver?" she hissed. The numbers on her uniform were 1s. Finally, she morphed into Grace. "How come you killed me Oliver?" the Career spat. There were 9s on her outfit. Grace morphed into Lewis. He stared at me frowning and groaned, "You should be dead." I woke up drenched in sweat and almost screamed.

Luckily a hand was already over my mouth. Once my restraint was lifted I found myself staring up at a stone ceiling. Then a face entered my vision. "So you're awake?" she asked. "Yeah," I croaked with a dry throat. "How long?" I inquired. "About a day. It's morning. Um, Day 6 I think," she responded awkwardly. I tried to sit up, but the burning pain in my abdomen was too much and I laid back down. "Who are you?" I choked. "And do you have anything to drink?" She laughed and forced a sip of water down my throat. "I'm Daisy. District 7," she clarified. "You were on the pedestal next to me right?" I recalled aloud. "Yeah I believe so," she answered. I attempted to change positions but that sent a wave of pain down my body. "Oh, don't try to wiggle around too much. You're almost healed. And might I add...you have some amazing sponsors. They saved your life," Daisy explained. "Sent you some wicked awesome medicine just moments after I found you," Daisy continued, "I killed that leopard or whatever that was on top of you and pulled you into my little burrow here-" "Burrow?" I butted in. "Uh, yeah. I have this little hole next to this tree that leads into this here cave," Daisy calmly replied. "Oh, wow. I got real lucky. Who died while I was out?" I choked. "I think someone from 10, and I think a tribute from District 6," Daisy said softly. She helped me sit against the wall so that I could see the place. Daisy had my bag and weapons in a corner, untouched. Her stuff was on the other side of the small cave and she had a bed area for herself next to her things, and mine was next to my things. "Cool place," I added, admiring Daisy's set up. "So...all that's left is Rico, Ashley, Silver, Harsh, that girl from 2, you, and me?" I counted out loud. Daisy nodded. "I'm afraid that pretty soon we'll be driven from this base," she shared her worries.

"Once I can move, we'll leave. Sound like a plan?" I suggested, Daisy agreed. Another awkward silence took over the small room. "Hey, Daisy," I began as casually as I could. "Yeah?" she responded, sensing my oncoming question. "Why didn't you kill me?"


	6. Chapter 6: The Harshest Punishment

"I needed an ally, and I didn't want to. Is that a good enough answer for you?" Daisy replied, clearly embarrassed. "No, no. I wasn't saying that you're a coward or anything. I'm glad you didn't kill me!" I tried to save the damage I had already inflicted. There was no point though, she wasn't reasoning with me. We passed an entire day talking and lounging around the cave. Daisy Wilson was a nice girl, age 15. She had a pretty face, light brown, straight hair, a nice slender figure, peachy skin, and soft brown eyes. Back home, she was single but had recently suffered a break up with this kid called Tanner. We got to know each other well before night fell and we went to sleep. No deaths had occurred that day.

In the morning I felt so much better! I had almost no pain at all! I could finally move again! The medicine had worked. I silently thanked my mentor. Daisy and I ate breakfast together. Our combined food supply was thinning. Then a voice suddenly boomed throughout the Arena, "Congratulations tributes. You are the final 7. Tonight at the Cornucopia there shall be a feast! Come down and grab what you can! Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

Daisy looked over at me and I smiled at her. "No freaking way I'm going to that," she said with certainty. My smile turned to a frown and I answered, "I am." Again, silence filled the room. "Then go," Daisy stated. I don't know if she was serious or not but I was tired of sitting around in a cave and talking to some random kid from 7. After I gathered my stuff into my backpack, grabbed my bow, quiver, and throwing stars, I crawled up a small passage until I managed to wriggle out onto the jungle floor. Sunlight filled my vision. Invigorated by the freedom, I started walking through the jungle. Then my legs began moving faster, and faster, and faster, until I was at a full sprint. As I relieved myself of all my pent up energy, I thought about Silver and Harsh. Those two idiots were out here tromping around, killing innocent people for fun. Along with the girl from District 2. What's her name anyway?

Finally, I reached the city. Crouching behind a building I watched as Harsh and the girl from 2 walked down the dirt road speaking loudly. "I can't believe that worm keeps stealing our stuff and getting away with it! We NEED to kill that twerp!" the girl from 2 screeched. They luckily hadn't detected my presence yet. I was about 30 yards away from them. "Yeah that's bad. But Paula, have you seen Oliver at all yet?" Harsh belched. So her name was Paula. "No, but I know that rat shot Silver with an arrow...and that Hope killed his friend," Paula replied in her shrill voice. Harsh nodded. "Silver claimed that kill, but I don't know...if I find him I might just kill him myself. We can't let an untrained District 4 kid kill us!" Harsh continued angrily. He held his usual long sword, now stained with blood. Paula was armed with a club, but she had several knives in her belt. Now I know who beat the boy from 5 to death on Day 2. The Careers were getting closer, and closer. I had to get out of there. I looked up and noticed that the wall of this building had several footholds. Also, the roof of the house had raised edges, which would provide cover. If I found a way to get up there, and immediately lay flat on my back, perhaps the Careers wouldn't notice me.

Hearing them get closer, I began my ascent. It was a fairly easy climb. I threw my bag up first so that the Careers wouldn't see it on my back when I laid down. Then I flung myself up onto the roof, lying flat on my stomach. Although my bow made a quiet tapping noise as it hit the roof I didn't think the Careers heard. I listened intently. They were still talking as they were before. I silently celebrated in my head. "Should we head back? Silver might get worried," Paula asked. I couldn't see them but I heard scuffling as the Careers started running. Harsh laughed loudly. "Come here little boy! We won't bite...too hard," Paula cackled. Their voices faded in the distance. The only other male tribute that wasn't a Career besides myself that was still alive was Rico from District 11. I smiled. They would have trouble catching that one on foot. Slowly, I sat up. I couldn't even see them anymore.

"Just focus on jumping," I told myself. Currently, I was struggling with thoughts of Daisy. I had just left her there in that cave. For all I know, she could be in danger. Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I continued hopping from building to building. This ancient city was well built actually. Eventually the Cornucopia loomed into view. A figure was sitting on top of it. "Silver," I whispered with frustration. He could probably see me, so I decided to get down from the house I stood on. However, the roof collapsed before I could jump down. I fell in a rain of rubble and rock. Several small boulders hit my shoulders, legs, and face. By the time I collided with the hard, dirty ground, I was already covered in cuts and small wounds. "Ouch..." I groaned quietly. I shoved a few rocks off of my body and tried to stand. It wasn't easy but I managed. Then I ruffled through my bag and revealed a water bottle. I gulped down about half of it, and stuffed a few crackers into my mouth. Refreshed, I bandaged most of my worst scrapes and hobbled away from the debris. Just for a little humor I said, "Don't jump on roofs guys. It hurts."

Sun setting, I knew I needed to get to the feast. Now running on the rocky path, the tip of the Cornucopia got nearer to me. Once I was close enough, I darted into a clay building and peered through a window, which gave me a good view of the Cornucopia. As I had predicted, Silver sat atop the metal structure, tossing around his sword. Harsh and Paula came running in. "That kid from 11 got away. He almost killed me, man!" Harsh yelled. Paula collapsed, panting. "Too fast..." she complained. It was dark now. The sun had set. Then, a voice announced throughout the Arena, "Let the feast begin!" A table shot up inside the Cornucopia. 6 bags each with a number. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 11 were the numbers that represented the remaining districts. Of course Harsh snatched the District 2 bag, Silver hopped down and grabbed the District 1 bag, and Rico took off running toward the Cornucopia from the other side of the city. I decided to wait a moment, but I readied an arrow. Rico had a knife, that he threw at Paula, who was guarding the other four bags. She knocked the weapon away with her club and swung at Rico's head as he approached her. He ducked and punched Paula in the gut, sending her sprawling on the ground. Now, having retrieved the District 11 bag, Rico picked up his fallen weapon and stabbed Paula in the back. A cannon rang out. Before either of the other Careers could catch him, Rico took off into the city. Man, he was fast. Silver pursued Rico as quickly as he could. This was my chance. I jumped out of the building and shot an arrow straight for Harsh. My shot was close, but it whizzed past his shoulder. Harsh, extremely enraged, ran towards me, pulling out his sword. I reached into my quiver for another arrow, only to find it empty. I had run out! Harsh was getting closer, I quickly brought a throwing star out of my pocket and chucked it at Harsh's chest. It connected and stuck in Harsh's chest, causing him to spurt blood. But that didn't stop him. I dropped my quiver and ran away from Harsh's rage.

He was gaining on me, but I heard his breathing getting heavier from the loss of blood. Then, in a surge of adrenaline, I whipped out another star, wheeled around, aimed it for Harsh's face, and let it fly. I missed the intended target, but it scraped across his head, and he screamed from the pain. More blood came from the wound. Just as Harsh was about to overtake me, he stumbled over his own feet to the ground. Harsh was in too much pain. I took out another star and threw it as hard as I could into Harsh's back. After a few moments, a cannon blast sounded.

Harsh's corpse lay before me, bloody and destroyed. I shivered. Another gruesome memory etched into my brain. I grabbed his sword and the District 2 bag before running back to the Cornucopia. I caught a glimpse of Ashley, the girl from 5 running into the city with her bag. I made it just as the table was going down and snatched my bag, and the District 7 bag. So Daisy really had decided not to come at all. I set off back towards the jungle. The only Career left was Silver. I laughed at myself, realizing I had three of the six bags from the feast.


	7. Chapter 7: The Tears Didn't Come

It was the middle of the night, and I was stumbling through the jungle. There was no way I was finding Daisy like this. I could barely see three feet in front of me. So I found a bush, snuck behind it, and set up camp. Officially, I had made it to the final 5. Before dozing off I made a mental analysis of my remaining competitors.

Daisy, District 7. Easy to defeat in battle, had few weapons, and wasn't particularly smart. Wasn't too worried about beating Daisy.

Silver, District 1. Of course I was frightened at the thought of facing him in one on one battle. He was the last Career standing, and Silver was a spectacular fighter. He also had plenty of weapons and supplies. Silver was the most strong tributes left.

Ashley, District 5. She was very smart, and a decent opponent in battle. Her trickery and wits had protected her thus far in the Games. I wasn't very sure how I would match up against her.

Rico, District 11. The super fast, Hispanic torpedo. I was afraid to face him but his fighting skills probably weren't better than mine. As for his supplies, I didn't know.

My odds were pretty good. If I could find a way to slip past Silver and maybe with a little luck, I might just make it all the way. Finally, I fell asleep.

Then, before I knew it, birds were chirping, the sun was up, and I was once again wide awake. Grabbing my few things, I set off for Daisy's hideout. Back in the city I had ditched my bow and quiver due to the loss of arrows, and picked up Harsh's long sword, so now I relied on it and my throwing stars. Following the path I recalled, I finally stumbled across the small hole. I wriggled through and fell before Daisy. "You made a mistake, not coming," I growled while I threw the District 7 bag to her. "Who were the cannons for?" Daisy blubbered despite my rage. I shrugged to annoy her. "I know that you know Oliver!" she declared. "I killed one of them. Rico killed the other," I hinted. Daisy's face went pale. "Not Careers...right?" she stammered. "You will see tonight," I finished. Daisy groaned and spat, "Why are you so irritated today?" I smiled coldly at her and responded calmly, "Because you were a coward and if anyone should have died at the feast it should have been you." Regretting the words after they came out, I wiggled out of the cave and ran away. Why did I always make things worse?

After climbing a tree in the jungle and cooling off, I realized something. Running away from Daisy was actually a good thing. I would have to face her eventually, our alliance couldn't last the whole game. So ending it was a good idea here in the final 5. Then a quiet beeping noise erupted near me. I frantically swiveled my head upward and saw, much to my delight, a silver container attached to a parachute floating towards me. Grinning ear to ear, I hungrily snatched the gift from the air and ripped it open. An apple lay in it along with a note. "Eat when you need a boost. Good luck Oliver, you're doing great. - Gill." A boost? I wanted to eat the apple now. But I couldn't. My food supplies had been replenished by the District 2 and 4 bags, so I was okay in that regard. The only thing special I'd received at the feast was a compass that would help me navigate the Arena. Hopping off my tree, I took a deep breath of fresh air, set my eyes on the city about half a mile in front of me, and set off. I had recently realized how great it would be if I was already at the Cornucopia when the final battle commences. So that's where I was headed. It was important to keep my ears listening for any movement. I always kept my hand on the hilt of Harsh's sword. Finally, I broke into a run as I entered the ancient ruined town. This was where Silver was likely to be lurking, so I had to be careful.

Surprisingly, it was all clear at the Cornucopia from where I was watching, behind a crumbled wall. But before I stood, a voice announced, "No action! It's time to spice things up!" My heart nearly stopped. Loud screeches broke out in the distance. I pulled out my sword and ran for the Cornucopia, hoping for some shelter from whatever mutts the GameMakers had released. Taking a few moments to turn my head as I sprinted, I noticed a flying beast darting towards me about 50 feet behind me. It looked like a bird, but it had the body of some sort of gray serpent. The Cornucopia was so close. Finally, I made it inside and whipped around, hoping the mutt didn't follow me. All was silent. Then it screeched.

This thing had to be only a few feet from me. At the horrid sound, I clapped my hand on my left ear, sensing pain. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't cover my other ear, because that was the hand that held my sword. If I had dropped the sword in order to cover my right ear, I would have died. Right there, killed by a mutt. This beast leaped from the right side of the entrance and tried to bite my head off with its enormous, slimy, wide, cracked, yellow beak. In a desperate attempt to survive, I swung my weapon violently at the mutt's face. By some stroke of luck, this swipe caused the monster to spin away from me and slam into the Cornucopia's metal wall. It whimpered and slid to the ground. Sighing, I assumed it was dead. I was terribly wrong. With a loud shriek, the mutt jumped off the ground, flapping its wings, and barreled toward me again. I ducked and the beast sailed over my head. Then I jumped to my feet and brought my sword down over the mutt's conveniently placed head. In a spurt of nasty black blood, the monster screeched one more time before collapsing to the floor.

I released another sigh of relief as I plopped down on my butt for a rest. A cannon sounded. I heard more screeching in the distance. The mutts were doing their job. Silently, I hoped they had killed Silver. Although I didn't know then, I had hoped in vain. The shrieks were getting closer. A human scream suddenly broke out. They were very close. Carefully, I peered outside. A little to the left in the ancient city, Rico, the super fast bolt of lightning, was sprinting away from a group of those flying mutts. Another cannon blasted. That's when I realized that Rico had collapsed and the mutt's were all over him. Suddenly a loud bang came from the back of the Cornucopia. "Get...OFF!" A male voice yelled. More loud screeches. Silver had arrived. I ran out of the Cornucopia into the sunlight, observing my surroundings. The mutts were finally dispersing. Then I heard the clang of metal coming from the back of the Cornucopia.

With only three tributes left, I pulled out my special apple that Gill had sent me, and I took a huge bite. Then two more. I felt exhilarated. Feeling way more confident, I charged around the metal horn to see Silver and Ashley, the girl from 5, locked in intense combat. She had a scythe, and Silver had a battle axe. For Ashley, the battle was turning very bad. Silver was hacking as hard as he could down on Ashley's weapon. He now smacked it out of her hands. The look Ashley gave Silver as he brought his axe down on her neck will haunt me forever. This event sent chills down my back. Ashley's cannon sounded and I turned to face Silver. As he wiped sweat from his face, Silver smirks at me and scoffs, "So you have finally showed up, eh, Oliver? You're going to pay. Pay for not joining the Careers. Pay for killing Hope. For killing Harsh. For killing...Grace." Silver almost choked up at Grace's name. I stared into this boy's eyes with a flaring hatred, gave a booming war cry, and charged Silver.

My sudden attack surprised the Career, and he barely blocked my first blow. The rest of our battle was in slow-motion to me. That apple must have been packed with some weird stuff. I parried all of Silver's attacks with ease, and my third attack, a jab at Silver's thigh, connected. He howled in pain and crumpled to one knee, dropping his axe. Silver, tears rolling down his cheeks, looked up at me. His jet black hair was messed up horribly and his pale face was even paler. I don't even remember exactly what he tried to say as I stabbed him through the chest, but I know he had been begging for mercy. Silver's cannon blasted.

The HoverCraft neared me, as I stared into Silver's unmoving brown eyes, and clutched Harsh's sword with white knuckles. "May I present the winner of the 56th Annual Hunger Games...Oliver Marion, District 4!" a voice boomed. My body refused to cry. The HoverCraft picked me up and I took a long final look at the Arena. The shining metal Cornucopia, the dusty ancient town, the green jungle in the distance, Rico's mangled body that lay in the city, Ashley's bloody body laying beside the Cornucopia, and Silver's dead corpse laying behind me. The tears didn't come.


End file.
